Fire Meet Gasoline
by pzajm
Summary: Who would have known that one lie could change so much? A re-write of the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and maybe some more grown up content ;) 120% Javajunkie...eventually. Please review if you like it/want more!
1. Hurt Me

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

She knew she didn't want to do this anymore. Why wouldn't he just go away? It was too late. She had given him her ultimatum two days ago. After she decided she didn't want to wait around for Luke anymore, she went to the one person who she knew would never turn her away - Christopher. Hours of her crying on his shoulder flew by, followed by a seduction attempt on his part, followed by a pint of ice cream. Nothing else happened. Lorelai knew that, but she also knew that all she wanted right now was for Luke to back off.

"I slept with Christopher." She lied through her teeth. Not two seconds went by before Luke stormed back into his truck and drove away, as she watched him do so.

* * *

"I'm a cat with no legs!" Rory faux-whined as the phone rang.

"We can't answer it," Lorelai responded as she sauntered back from the kitchen "we're out of the country. No ice cream. Unbelievable. One time I feel like cooking there's no ice cream to fry..."

_"Lor, hey, it's me." _Christopher's voice echoed through the hall through the answering machine_ "Just still trying to reach you. I've been calling because I'm kinda confused, I opened my door this morning only to be punched in the face by Luke. Now either he's insanely possessive, or, he's got the wrong idea about last night. Anyway, just please call me back. I need to talk about us, I need to know where we stand. Okay. Bye."_

The blood drained from Lorelai's face as she looked at her daughter's stunned expression. She definitely did not expect Luke to confront Christopher.

"So..."

"You slept with dad." Rory said coldly, crossing her arms.

"No, I didn't, it's complicated but..." She sighed as she sat down on the other end of the sofa. "Basically, I lied to Luke. I told him I slept with Christopher when I hadn't."

"Mom, why?! What on earth would possess you to do that?"

"Rory," Lorelai responded sternly. She was at fault here, but she really wasn't in the mood for a discussion about it right now. "I was done. I am done. It took him two days to decide that he actually wanted to be with me, so I'm sorry, but I don't want to be with someone who has to think about whether or not he wants to be with me when I had done nothing to warrant being treated that way! HE pushed me out, he was living a double life. I got tired of it. Then this morning he turned up with his truck full of crap, telling me he was ready! He wouldn't listen to me, he wouldn't go away. So I told him what I knew would make him go away."

By this point, her mother was crying hysterically. "Oh, mom..." she scooted closer towards her and gently placed her hand on her shoulder. "...I'm sorry. I was being judgey."

"You were." Lorelai sighed, "but I deserve it. I don't know what would be worse, if I had actually slept with Christopher, or lying about it. I feel like I just introduced a fire to gasoline. Hey there, fire, my trusty friend! Meet my other friend, gasoline, he'll help you be more efficient at your job of destroying everything!"

* * *

Going all the way to Walmart just to avoid any chance of seeing Luke was a new low for her. Although, considering what she came to buy, it was probably best to avoid the people of Stars Hollow altogether. She stopped at the end of the freezer aisle and shuffled what she was already carrying in her hand, opened the freezer door and grabbed a pint of Half-Baked Ben &amp; Jerry's. She shuddered at the feeling of the cold carton against her already-cold skin, thanks to the extreme overuse of air conditioning in the supermarket. As Lorelai shut the freezer door, she caught a glimpse of a checkered flannel shirt in the corner of her eye and sighed deeply, dreading the worst. She looked up, and there he was.

"Hey." Luke said, unenthused, darting his eyes to the ground.

"Well, I guess both of us avoiding Doose's didn't work out that well, huh?" She joked, hoping he wouldn't look at what was behind the ice cream she was holding.

"Well I wasn't avoiding Doose's...it's just the closest market to Liz and TJ's house." He responded matter-of-factly. He was blatantly hurt, angered, upset...but he was trying to act like he didn't care at all. She knew him too well, this was his thing. All she wanted to do was tell him the truth and let him love her... but it was too late. She couldn't go back now. Her eyes tightened as she felt them starting to well up.

"Right, because you're not affected by this. You're not mad. I forgot."

"No, I..." He hesitated, shoving his hands in his pockets. Just looking at her was difficult. "I was mad. I was really mad. I know I was a jerk. I was just...mad."

"I was the jerk. I was such a jerk." She told him, pursing her lips as her eyes stung even more with the threat of tears.

"I'm not mad anymore," Luke sighed, once more darting his eyes to his feet, and then back up to Lorelai "well, that's not true, but I won't be...you know, eventually. Really."

"Yeah?" She asked hopefully. Was he really going to forgive her soon?

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"It's not your fault. It's not my fault. It's just, we're not right together, you know? You're you, I'm me. I just… want to stop pretending we're something else. You don't belong with me. You belong with someone like Christopher. and I just... let's just stop fighting it, okay? And you go back to being Lorelai Gilmore. I'll go back to being the guy in the diner who pours your coffee."

Wow. She knew he was mad, but she hadn't realised exactly how upset he was. Did he just write off their entire relationship? Three whole years?

"My hand is getting cold." Lorelai said bluntly, gesturing slightly towards the ice cream she was holding.

"Okay." Luke nodded, putting his hands back on his shopping cart, ready to go.

"Okay." She sighed as she stepped past him and walked down the aisle, towards the checkouts. She looked down at her hands and thanked the universe for not letting him see the pregnancy test she had been holding behind the ice cream.


	2. Burn Me

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

Three months had passed since they bumped into each other at Walmart, and things between Luke and Lorelai seemed to be thawing. Rory was back in New Haven, meaning that all Lorelai had was a house void of other humans and only the company of the dog Paul Anka.

The only person who knew that she was pregnant was Rory; who, surprisingly, was happy about it. She switched her coffee at work to decaf, with the hopes that Sookie and Michel wouldn't notice. She hadn't been to Luke's, obviously, so there was no need to hide anything there. From the estimated due date she was given by her doctor, she had already been two months pregnant by the time she took a pregnancy test, meaning she was now five months pregnant and starting to show. It was time to come clean.

Lorelai put on her jacket that morning, walked outside and went straight up to Babette, who was busy in her yard. "Hey, Babette! Good morning," She waved cheerfully at the tiny woman a few feet away from her.

"Lorelai, doll! How are ya?" Babette called back despite Lorelai already being right in front of her.

"I'm really good thanks Babette, really good! In fact, I kinda have something I thought you should know, you know, as my neighbour and my friend..."

"Well, what is it? Is it Christopher, are ya gettin' back together? Oh, Rory would be thrilled wouldn't she! well it must be Christopher, we all heard about what happened, why ya broke up with Luke..."

"No, no, it's not that..." Lorelai laughed awkwardly, making a mental reminder to kill whoever told Babette. She placed her hands on her belly and smoothed the middle of her dress over it, to highlight her rounded bump. "...I'm having a baby!"

Babette's eyes widened as she looked to the taller woman's abdomen. "OH my gawd! Well hun, I can't lie. I did suspect, but I never thought...wow! Awh, congratulations doll!" She jumped and hugged Lorelai tightly.

"Thanks Babette." Lorelai grinned, knowing the entire town would know within the hour.

* * *

As soon as she arrived at work that morning, she had been jumped on by Sookie and Michel, who had heard from East Side Tilly, who was apparently calling every business in town to tell them the news of Stars Hollow's impending addition to the local population.

"Oh my God, Lorelai! How?! What? I can't believe you kept this from me! How is Rory doing? What does she think?" Sookie asked, talking a mile a minute as per.

"Well Sookie, I don't think I have to explain the birds and the bees to you of all people," Lorelai laughed as she poured herself a cup of her now unnecessarily-hidden decaf coffee, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, don't worry it's decaf" She added hastily as her best friend averted her gaze to the coffee "Rory is actually pretty excited. I was surprised by how amazing she's been about it since we found out."

"Well of course she is, she's going to have a brother or sister, with the same mom AND dad! How did Christopher take it? I bet he wasn't expecting this after a one night stand!"

"Uh, Sookie. Pantry?" She nudged her friend until they had both wedged their way through the kitchen, and into the tiny pantry for some privacy. "The baby isn't Christopher's." She told Sookie as soon as they shut the door.

"Well then...colour me confused!" The chef exclaimed, with a very puzzled look donned across her face.

Lorelai took a deep breath, and bit her lip to stop herself from crying. This was the hardest part for her. Reminding herself every day that she was carrying Luke's baby felt awful enough, but keeping it from him and everyone else for that matter, felt so much worse. She didn't want to be Anna Nardini 2.0; though she felt she had no choice. Luke made it clear when he rejected her ultimatum, that April was all that mattered to him, and being a single parent herself, Lorelai understood that. She didn't want to get in the way of Luke getting to know the daughter he was kept from. On top of that, there was that stupid, stupid lie she told.

"I never slept with Christopher." She whispered. Even with her eyes shut tightly, she could see the look on Sookie's face. "I'm so sorry for keeping that from you."

"I still don't understand...why did you tell Luke that you did? But this means you shouldn't even be broken up! Oh my god...is the baby Luke's?!" Sookie yelled, startling Lorelai a little. As soon as she realised how loud she had been, she clapped her hands over her mouth and looked at her friend apologetically. Lorelai took another deep breath, opened her eyes and nodded.

"I guess I should explain... um. It was over, I needed it to be over. I was so tired of being on the outside of his life. I told him it was now or never, he didn't choose me. Two days later, he decided he wanted me. I didn't want to get in the way of him and April anymore, especially if he wasn't serious about marrying me. I mean, of course he wasn't, I'm the one who proposed. Anyway, he wasn't listening to me. He was going on and on about eloping, but I was done. I was done feeling like I was just a back up. So, I lied. I told a horrible lie to make him hate me, just because I didn't want to marry someone who wasn't all in." She sighed, "It sounds awful all summarised but, there ya go."

"Wow." Sookie whispered, unsure of what else to say at that moment. "But you've run into Luke a few times, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I haven't been into the diner or anything but. There have been a few awkward run-ins, exchanging pleasantries - all so unlike Luke and I. But I'm going to go and talk to him today, I think. I can't keep him from his baby anymore."

* * *

She felt every single pair of eyes in town following her as she walked up those steps to Luke's diner, her palms sweating, stomach churning. She spotted him before she even opened the door; he was wearing one of his usual flannel checkered shirts and baseball cap - she noticed that he had been wearing this new black cap every time she had run into him - she supposed it was appropriate, seeing as he used to wear one that she bought him a few years ago. Had he thrown it out because it reminded him of her?

Ignoring the stares and whispers, she marched straight up to Luke, who had just finished ringing up a customer at the cash register. "Hey can I talk to you? In private?" She asked, earning a grunt as a response. She followed him upstairs, to his apartment.

She closed his door carefully and turned to see him standing by the table, looking out of the window away from her. A few moments passed before he turned around and looked at her, arms crossed, lips pursed. Luke was pissed.

"So I take it you heard?" Lorelai asked softly, fiddling with the strap of her handbag.

"Yeah. East Side Tilly." He half-grunted. "You know, I thought that after everything you said when we were together, that you would at least be serious about a guy before deciding to be a mother again. But I guess you just love being a single mom, huh?"

"What?" She was taken aback by his remark. Calling him rude would be a complete understatement.

"Oh come on Lorelai, we break up, you jump back into bed with Christopher and now you're having his baby again? This is ridiculous, what is wrong with you? We've been broken up for three months! We were together for three years!"

"Wait, Luke-"

"No. No, you don't get to talk, Lorelai. I thought things might get better, not yet but someday, I thought there might still be hope for us. But it's gone now. You clearly can't keep your panties on long enough to even think straight!"

She wouldn't let him see her cry. This isn't what she came here to do, she was supposed to be telling him the truth right now, but instead he was completely tearing into her.

"Well, as you said before, you don't care." She spat, not caring about his feelings anymore. "Who do you think you are, basically calling me a slut?! That's not okay Luke!"

"Whatever." He grunted, crossing his arms again.

"I came here today to tell you the truth, but I guess...there's no getting through to you."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter. Goodbye, Luke." She shook her head, turned around and swiftly left his apartment. Maybe he didn't deserve to know the truth, after all.

**A/N: I know Luke might seem quite out of character, but he's really, really mad. In case you couldn't tell. Haha.**


	3. Strike The Match

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

**A/N: I actually quite agree with Guest's review. I just finished re-watching the entire series on Netflix, so after reading her review, I went back and watched the mid to end of season 5, around the time where Luke broke up with Lorelai after the whole Emily using Christopher shenanigans. And I have to say, although at first I sympathised with him - it can't be easy being with someone whose mother would do something so evil and vicious just to break you two up - but, really? Luke was quite infuriating. Lorelai was completely devastated and he made her jump through hoop after hoop. She practically begged him to listen to what she had to say and he humiliated her. He only got back with her when it suited him, without any actual conversation with Lorelai first. All in all I think the way he treated her was so strange considering he'd been pining for her for almost a decade. **

**Lorelai isn't innocent either, well, especially not in this story. She did lie about sleeping with someone else, which is a major thing to lie about and I think Luke's reaction to the assumption that she's having a baby with Christopher is karma partially biting her in the ass for that lie. **

**Also, I thought I'd explain that the title and chapter titles are from Fire And Gasoline by Sia. The song reminds me of LL so much because they're both very self-sabotaging people. **

* * *

Friday night dinner seemed to have come around more quickly than usual. The Gilmore girls stood at the large entrance to Richard and Emily's house as they did every week, trying to come up with reasons not to ring the doorbell.

"You can't tell them, they're going to flip!" Rory exclaimed as her hands flew to her head in travesty.

"I'm thirty-eight years old! I can eat a chicken sandwich if I want!"

"This really isn't the time to start referencing Freddie Got Fingered..."

"But I've never related to Tom Green as much as I do right now." Lorelai sighed as she inched towards the doorbell.

"Ugh," Rory grunted, pushing her arm past her mother and landing a lithe finger on the button. With an obligatory rolling of the eyes, she pushed it. "There."

Both women looked around awkwardly as they waited for the door to be opened by this week's maid. "WHERE is that maid?! Renata! What on earth..." Emily Gilmore's voice resonated through the solid oak door before opening it and looking at her daughter and granddaughter, with a look that could only be described as sheer annoyance. "You're late. Well come in, I have to find Renata, Lord knows that if she can't be entrusted with answering the door there's no way she can be trusted with lamb roast!"

"I guess we'll take our own coats..." Lorelai said quietly as Emily wandered off. "Oh, look, we found Waldo!"

"May I take your coats?" Renata, presumably, asked as she shuffled quickly towards them. The two arrivals took their coats and bags off and handed them to the maid, who shuffled off again.

"Renata just took our coats, Grandma." Rory bellowed as she followed her mother into the lounge, looking around for her grandmother as she did. "Hey Grandpa!" She said as she noticed Richard sitting in one of the armchairs, reading the newspaper as per.

"Why hello Rory, Lorelai." Richard looked up from his newspaper, deciding to fold it up and set it aside. "What would you like to drink?"

"Um, actually, where's mom? Could I talk to you guys first? It'll just take a second."

"Emily!" Richard called as Rory and Lorelai perched themselves on the sofa opposing him. As soon as they were sat down Emily came down the stairs.

"Did someone say they found Renata?"

"Yeah Grandma. She took our coats." Rory told her.

"Useless," Emily walked into the lounge and sat herself on an armchair.

"Lorelai wanted to speak with us, Emily."

"Uh, yes. I have some news, well, we have some news really." Lorelai anxiously looked at her daughter, who nodded in support. "I'm pregnant."

Emily and Richard looked at each other, as though to check that they'd heard what Lorelai said correctly. Astonished, Richard looked back at his daughter. "Well, this is wonderful Lorelai!"

She felt like a tonne of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders. Did she need to clean her ears? Did her father really just say what she heard? Just as she was about to repeat her news to ensure that they had heard her, Lorelai felt her mother next to her, getting a little too close for comfort. "This really is wonderful," Emily said, throwing her arms around her daughter, possibly for the first time ever.

"We thought you guys would be livid!" Rory laughed in shock. Who were these people, and what did they do to the Gilmores?

"Well, your mother isn't sixteen anymore. She has proven that she is more than capable of providing for herself, and you, Rory. If you are anything to go by..."

"Exactly. Plus we never thought we'd have another grandchild; as your grandfather has already said, your mother isn't getting any younger..."

"Now Emily, don't twist my words!" Richard warned his wife.

"Wow," Lorelai sighed happily. "Who'd have thought, huh?"

"Quite," Richard agreed. "We really are happy for you, Lorelai. You are independent, you've shown us that a family doesn't have to include a mother and a father. We are very proud of you."

"Although you being married would make it a lot easier to tell my DAR ladies..."

"Emily! Stop it!"

* * *

"I'm so glad you're home this weekend!" Lorelai beamed as they drove home in the Wrangler later that evening.

"Me too, the apartment is way too quiet and empty without Logan. Plus ordering Chinese food for twenty people when I'm alone isn't quite the same as ordering it when I'm with you."

"Ahh, my sweet, sweet child."

"Hey could you pull over?" Rory asked as they had just passed Doose's market. Lorelai pulled over on the corner by the gazebo, where Luke's diner was in sight. "I wanna get us some donuts."

"Oh, okay." Lorelai said, somewhat dazed. "Chocolate with sprinkles!" She yelled as Rory got out of the car.

It was a cold, damp night. Luke's was only a few feet away but the walk seemed to take forever. Rory felt her feet getting heavier as she came closer to the diner, as though her shoes were filling up with cement. Her mother had told her about her fight with Luke, and although Lorelai would sooner move in with Emily and Richard than admit it, Rory knew that she really wanted to tell Luke about their baby. She thought her little brother or sister deserved to have both parents at least in the know about their existence. She walked up the steps and saw Luke on the other side of the counter. Ignoring the "closed" sign, she opened the door and walked right up to him.

"We're closed!" He grumbled without looking up from the toaster he was fixing. Rory could have sworn he'd been trying to fix the same toaster for about seven years now...

"Donuts please," She stated bluntly, knowing he wouldn't turn her away after realising who she was. She took a seat on one of the stools when Luke suddenly looked up and laid the screwdriver and toaster back on the counter. He gave a slight nod and proceeded to pick up the donut tongs and a paper bag. "Chocolate with sprinkles. That one. And that one. And that one."

"There you go," Luke handed the bag -now full of donuts- towards her "s'on the house."

"No," Rory said, putting some cash on the counter. "You don't get to be nice to me anymore."

"Rory, I-"

"No. Just listen. You need to talk to her. You can't possibly just leave things as they are, trust me Luke, you don't want to. Time is of the essence right now. You have to talk to her. You'll kick yourself later if you don't."

"She's having a baby with your father, Rory. I can't forgive that."

"For God's sake, stop being stupid!" Rory stood up angrily "She didn't sleep with my dad! And she hasn't been with him since before Sookie's wedding!" The colour had drained from Luke's face and Rory could tell that he had successfully put two and two together. "She shouldn't have lied to you. You shouldn't have freezed her out of your life when April turned up. Both of you were wrong. But Luke, you've been pining for her for over a decade. You've been more of a dad to me than my own dad. Give her a chance to explain to you, and to apologize. That's what she came here to do the other day before you got into that fight."

"She told you about that?" Luke asked quietly, still in a massive state of shock.

"Yes. Your anger was completely justified, you didn't know. Just give her a chance to try to make it right. You really don't want to miss being in your baby's life, you don't want to miss them being born."

"I know." He sighed, thinking about April. "I need to process this, I-"

"Well process quickly, the baby is due sometime in January." Rory told him before turning around and leaving the diner.

"Oh, fuck." Luke sighed again, this time to himself, and ran his hands over his head.


	4. There's Two of Us

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews. I really, really love reading your thoughts! Hopefully from this chapter onwards, you will be able to see that Luke is *very slowly* realising that he has a problem with his communication skills/jealousy/etcetera when it comes to the women in his life. And when I say very slowly, I mean *very slowly*, because well, we all know how slow Luke is at processing ;) if you have anymore thoughts, please leave a review**

* * *

"Michel what did I tell you about the framed Celine Dion pictures you keep putting on the bed side tables? You're freaking our guests out!" Lorelai yelled as she shuffled through a stack of mail while walking through the Dragonfly Inn, towards Michel at the desk. "Please get rid of-" She stopped in her tracks as she looked up from the envelopes to see Luke standing at the reception desk with Michel.

"Uh. Hi."

"I am so sorry Lorelai, I told him to go away but he would not listen to me, nor would he answer my question about whether or not someone in his family owns a flannel company."

"It's fine Michel. Could you go collect Celine Dion from all the rooms now, please." Lorelai meant for it to be a request, but combined with her eye-pointing, Michel knew it was more of a command. He rolled his eyes and left the reception area, leaving Lorelai alone with Luke.

"Can I help you?" She turned to Luke, who looked much less angry than he did the last time they spoke.

"How formal," He chuckled nervously "Um. Could we talk?"

"Sure." She sighed, beckoning him to follow her. They walked through the foyer and the lounge, stopping in the little library. Luke sat on the sofa and waited for Lorelai to sit down.

"Are you gonna sit?" He asked her after a few moments had passed.

"Um. No," She responded, crossing her arms across her chest. "sitting makes me feel nauseous today." She added after seeing a look of confusion flash across his face.

"Oh! Right. Okay." Luke said, clasping his hands together, then unclasping them, then twiddling his thumbs awkwardly.

"Yeah. So... um. I don't really know why you're here, but since you are, I might as well say what I was going to say last week." She paused, tucking a stray tuft of hair behind her ear anxiously. "First of all: I am so, so sorry. I lied to you-"

"Look, I can't-" Luke interrupted, only to be interrupted again by Lorelai.

"You can't what?! You're the one who came here, Luke!"

"I was gonna say... I can't listen to you saying all of this stuff when I already know most of it." He sighed, looking directly at her, which made her feel slightly weak at the knees.

"You know?" She asked, somewhat confused.

"I know." He nodded.

"Well. You know. And I'm really, really sorry."

"I know."

"But...it doesn't change anything between us. I mean, of course it does," She laughed awkwardly, shifting her weight from left to right "but not right now."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, standing up and walking toward her.

"Well. We've both said some really hurtful things and I'm just...I'm not over that. I would never keep our baby away from you but as far as you and me go I think our chapter is done."

"But... I wanna be involved, Lorelai. I wasn't involved with April, I wanna be involved this time!"

"I know, I just. I need time, okay? I'm not over us! You were never just the guy who poured my coffee, you were always there for Rory and I, you were one of my best friends, I thought you were 'the one'! Please, for this to work, I just need to get over you." Lorelai yelled while trying to control her tears. She thought she would be able to keep cool about it or at least come off as somewhat saner than usual about their situation, but she couldn't anymore.

"I am so sorry, Lorelai. I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm not over us either, I..."

"Luke, just stop. You couldn't love me for who I am. That was what went wrong with us. I'm still me, the me you couldn't love for me, so just forget it. We'll be civil, friends even someday, it'll be fine. Co-parenting will be fine."

"Fine." Luke muttered, rushing past her to leave.

* * *

"Mom!" Rory yelled, shutting the front door and setting her bags of dirty laundry on the floor.

"In here!" Lorelai responded from the kitchen. Rory walked in to find her mother sitting at the table, staring at an apple.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Thinking about Katie Holmes. Poor Katie Holmes."

"I know, Tom Cruise is just far too excited about life. Really, what are you thinking?"

"Thinking...of an excuse not to go to Friday night dinner."

"Grandma and Grandpa are outta town this weekend," Rory said matter-of-factly, swiping the apple off the table and taking a bite out of it.

"Hey! My apple!" Lorelai pouted.

"You were just staring at it! I'm starving, can we go to Luke's?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhghhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Lorelai groaned, crossing her arms on the table and burying her face in them. Rory proceeded to look around the kitchen for more food.

"Mom, all you have are saltines and apples! Come on, Luke's, please?"

"But it's only been a few days since I talked to him. Uggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." She objected, burying her face further into her arms.

"Mom, you have to see him eventually. January isn't even that far away."

"Stooooppppppppp!"

"Please?!" Rory squealed, prising Lorelai's face from her arms.

* * *

"Explain how you talked me into this, again?" Lorelai asked her daughter as they sat in the Jeep on the street outside of Luke's diner.

"I'm withering away with malnutrition," Rory whined dramatically, climbing out of the car.

"Yeah, yeah" She mumbled, manoeuvring herself out. In the last week or so, getting in and out of the Wrangler seemed to be proving a little more difficult with her ever-expanding abdomen.

They walked towards the diner together in silence, almost praying that for some reason or other Luke might not be at his own diner. Rory opened the door and walked in first, smiling at Babette and Miss Patty, who were sitting on the other end of the premises. "Clear!" She whispered behind her, signalling to Lorelai that Luke wasn't in the dining area or behind the counter at that moment. They half-rushed in, sat down at a table at the side of the counter and quickly covered their faces with menus.

"Do you think anyone noticed?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"Well that was more comical than incognito, so I'd say yes. Yes, everyone did." Rory responded as she slowly put her menu down, revealing the fact that practically everyone in the diner was staring at them. She put her hand out and slapped Lorelai's menu down, too.

"Hey," they heard Luke say from behind Lorelai.

"Luke!" Rory exclaimed, smiling at him. She looked at her mother, who had said nothing, and pointed at Luke with her eyes as a gesture to get her to say hello. Failing that, Rory kicked her leg under the table instead.

"Ow!" Lorelai shouted, rolling her eyes at Rory "Hello Luke." she said through gritted teeth. Sensing that she wasn't ready to speak to him, he nodded at Rory.

"What can I get ya?"

"The biggest cheeseburger in Stars Hollow, please." She responded, averting her gaze back to her mother. "Mom?"

"Uh. Just coffee please. Decaf."

"Really? All you've eaten today are saltines and apples..."

"Really. I'm not hungry, hon."

"One cheeseburger and a cup of decaf. Coming right up." Luke grumbled as he put his notepad in his back pocket and went behind the counter.

"Mom! You made Luke sad. He was almost chipper before he took our order."

"I'm just not ready to be...friendly. Not yet. And I'm really not hungry." Lorelai explained, tired of explaining how unready she was.

"Hiya honeys!" Babette called as she approached the Gilmores at their table.

"Hey Babette." They both said in unison.

"Did ya hear about East Side Tilly?"

"No, what happened? Is she okay?" Lorelai asked, not sure whether this was something to be concerned about or if it would end up as one of Babette's dramatical anecdotes.

"Well, she's fine, but her nephew's brother's girlfriend's uncle, he went fishing today, well we all know how much he loves fishing, anyway, so he got a doodah stuck in a dingey and well-"

"Sorry Babette, I just need the bathroom..." Lorelai whispered as she got up during Babette's story and walked towards the bathroom. As she walked past the entrance toward the upstairs apartment, she saw Luke heading upstairs and decided to follow him. By the time she got to the top of the stairs, Luke was heading back downstairs and bumped into her.

"Lorelai! Sorry I didn't expect-"

"No it's fine, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- nevermind, um. Could we talk?"

"Uh. Sure, let's go...in my apartment?" Luke checked to see if she would be alright with it.

"That sounds fine." She gave him a small smile and followed him into his apartment. It had been less than a fortnight since she was last here. She took a quick glance around and noticed a few small changes that she hadn't seen last time; he had a new table cloth, and the candlesticks she gave him had been replaced. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I was kinda rude before. I didn't mean to be."

"It's fine."

"I just don't know how to do this. I don't know how to not be weird around you. Do you remember what it was like before?"

"Before what?" He asked, sitting down at the table. "Does sitting still make you nauseous?"

"No. It's just Paul Anka that makes me nauseous now." She said, pulling a chair out and sitting on the other side of the table.

"The dog?"

"No, the real Paul Anka." She retorted, earning a nod from Luke. "So anyway, I meant, before you know...before we were in love."

"I don't really remember not being in love with you." Luke said quietly. It was true; he didn't.

"Well, that helps." Lorelai leaned back against the chair and folded her arms. "So... I um," she rooted through her purse, searching for something. "I have this...I thought you might like to see." She found the piece of paper she had been looking for and slid it across the table. "It's an ultrasound of the... our... baby."

Luke picked the piece of paper up and took a good look at it before furrowing his brow. "That was a couple of months ago, I know it looks like a black and white picture of a shrimp but, yeah." She was rambling. He had always secretly found her rambling to be cute.

"It kinda does," he chuckled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. You can keep that if you want, I have another." She told him. He nodded quietly, still looking at the ultrasound. Deciding that she had left Rory with Babette for long enough, she stood up and turned to leave. "Actually," she turned back to look at him "I have another ultrasound on Monday. It's an anomaly ultrasound, so I was gonna find out if it's a boy or a girl... I thought maybe if you had the time, you could come? Only if you want to, of course."

"I'd love to." Luke smiled. "Should I pick you up?"

"Sure," Lorelai smiled back "I'll be at the inn. Pick me up at 12?"

Luke stood up to head back to the diner with her. "Monday at 12."


	5. I Ache For Love

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

* * *

After a very hectic weekend at the diner, Monday came around pretty quickly, and Luke was in the diner at 5:45 a.m. preparing to open at 6:00. He watched through the window while he took the chairs off their respective tables and set them on the floor one by one, noting the later Fall sunrise as he watched the sky slowly change colour. Just as he made a mental reminder for himself to order more pumpkinfor pie, the phone started to ring.

"Who the hell is calling at this hour?" He asked himself as he set the last chair and made his way towards the phone. "Luke's." He groaned into the receiver almost before he even picked it up.

"Hey, it's me, Anna..."

Luke immediately shot to attention when he realised who was calling "Anna? What, is April okay?"

"She's fine, sorry to call so early. It's my mother, she needs me again so I have to head down to New Mexico as soon as possible, and I can't just yank April outta school..."

"Of course, say no more. She'll stay with me." Luke told her immediately, breathing a sigh of relief that nothing had happened to April.

"Okay, another thing, she doesn't actually have school today because it's a training day or something, so could I drop her off at the diner on my way to the airport? It would be in about an hour, we're leaving soon."

"Uh..." He thought, trying to remember if there was anything he had to do today. He could have sworn there was something he'd forgotten, but it just wasn't coming to mind right now. "Yes, sure. I'm gonna be at the diner all day today so she can hang out here with me."

* * *

Crossing her arms, she looked at her watch and sighed. 12:10. If she was going to make her 1 p.m appointment in Hartford, she would have to leave right now. Dropping her arms to her side, Lorelai shook her head and made her way towards the Jeep, rooting through her handbag for the keys as she walked. She made an exasperated huffing noise before unlocking the door and perching in the driver's seat. Thinking twice about setting her bag aside, she rooted through it once more to find her phone. "Aha!" She cried when it was found, flipped it opened and dialled.

"Luke's Diner!" A cheerful, younger, more feminine voice chirped charismatically over muffled lunchtime rush noises. "Hello?" The voice asked, now seemingly concerned for the lack of a response.

"Uh..." Lorelai couldn't think of what to say "April, is that you?"

"Yes. Lorelai? Do you want me to get my Dad?"

"Um. No, that's okay. The diner sounds pretty busy."

"Yeah it is," April confirmed, feeling pretty strange about the awkward conversation so far "Can I take a message?"

"No, no. Sorry. I mean, thanks." Lorelai bit her lip. Awkward conversations with her ex's kid really were not her forte.

"Okay, well... bye?"

"Yeah. Bye." 12:20. She would be late for sure now.

* * *

"That was probably the busiest lunch rush I've witnessed so far!" April yelled excitedly at her father across the now almost-empty diner. Refilling the salt and sugar shakers were definitely her favourite thing to do after a busy spell.

"Yeah, just you wait until the holiday season. We go through about six pies a day." Luke laughed. It was now 2 p.m. "Hey I saw you on the phone earlier, was it your mom?"

"Oh, no, it was Lore-"

"Oh my God, Lorelai! Shoot!" Luke interrupted, throwing the rag he had been using back on the counter and throwing his hands onto the base of his cap. April looked at him with a puzzled expression, and Luke realised he hadn't even had a chance to speak to her yet about Lorelai and the new baby.

"Ah, geez." He sighed "One minute sweetie, I completely spaced out and now I have a call I have to make." April shrugged at her dad and carried on with the salt and sugar. He picked up the telephone and dialled Lorelai's cell phone, only to be met by her voicemail message. He hung up and tried again, this time dialling her home number, to be met by a similar message. "Lorelai, it's me. I am so, so sorry. I've been so busy and I completely spaced. It's my fault, I'm so sorry. Please call me back as soon as you get this. Bye."

* * *

_"Lorelai, it's me. I am so, so sorry. I've been so busy and I completely spaced. It's my fault, I'm so sorry. Please call me back as soon as you get this. Bye"_

Lorelai listened to the message once before deleting it. Was she being too harsh by completely ignoring him? He sounded sincere with his apology, but right now, that wasn't enough. She had been kind enough to extend him an olive branch, and in turn he had just pushed her aside. Again. He made no mention of having April the other day when she asked him to go with her to the appointment. She sighed and padded her way towards the sofa. Leaning over her bump to reach for the remote on the coffee table, she realised that she had been so distracted by her Luke drama, that she hadn't even called Rory to tell her the sex of the baby. She decided to forgo the remote and instead turned to reach for her cell phone. Smiling at the thought of the moment the ultrasonographer told her that she was having a perfectly healthy baby, she dialled Rory's number and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"Rory! It's yoah muthaaaa" Lorelai responded with her best Babette impression.

"Wow," Rory laughed "you've improved!"

"I know, right? So guess what..." Rory could practically hear her mother smiling.

"Tell me! Come on Mom, please, don't make me wait any longer. I've been waiting for you to call all day!"

"You're going to have a baby...drum roll, please,"

"Mom!"

"Sister!" Lorelai squealed, completely forgetting about everything else that had happened today.

"Oh my God! Yay! Another Gilmore girl!" Rory yelled, panting slightly.

"Kid, are you jumping up and down?"

"Yes! Oh mom, I'm so happy. Oh," Suddenly her tone sobered a little "So why did it take you all day to call me? Now I'm mad at you!"

"I'm sorry babe, it hasn't been a good day apart from the news about the baby."

"Why not?" Rory asked, her voice now dripping with concern.

"On Friday night, when I went to speak to Luke, I thought I would make a friendly gesture...so I invited him to the appointment today." She sighed before continuing "but he forgot about it and he didn't turn up."

"Seriously? Wow. Mr Reliable isn't so reliable anymore..."

"Rory,"

"It's true! Even before you dated, he was always there for us. And now, where it concerns his kid, he isn't there? What was his excuse?" Lorelai could tell that Rory was really irritated by this, which made her feel bad. Luke had always been a father figure in Rory's life and she didn't want her to think badly of him on her part.

"I haven't exactly spoken to him, but he had April today...she answered the phone at the diner when I called."

"That's no excuse, mom. He said he wanted to be involved, you've given him the opportunity and he forgot about it. If he had April today he could have brought her along. He's going to have two children now, he can't choose one or the other."

"Wow, when did you become so wise?" Lorelai smiled, wondering how her daughter had grown up so fast.

"Three years of doing laundry by yourself in the middle of the night can do that to a person." Rory told her very seriously.

* * *

Luke braced himself as he pulled his truck into the drive of the Crap Shack. He had just taken April to Liz and T.J's for dinner, and he was thinking about the conversation he had just had with his little sister which prompted him to come here.

_"Luke, how could you do that?! " Liz said in hushed tones as she and her brother went outside to continue their conversation, so as not to alarm April._

_"I just...I forgot! I was busy and,"_

_"No. This is way bigger than that! Are you stupid? This goes all the way back to my wedding! You've never given Lorelai a chance. She's always had to jump through flaming god damned hoops for you!"_

_"Aw geez Liz come on, what are you talking about?" Luke pleaded with disbelief. Was his own sister seriously blaming him for everything that had happened between himself and Lorelai?_

_"This is just so you, Luke. You did this with Rachel, I'm sure you did this with Nicole too although she was freakin nuts. And you definitely did this with Anna. And for the last three years we've all watched you do this to Lorelai. To LORELAI. First you pushed her away because of where she comes from - seriously, are you crazy? Sure her parents have a tonne of cash but in the short time I've known her Lorelai has shown to be the exact opposite of all that! She ran away with her baby when she was sixteen because she didn't want that life!'_

_"Yeah but..."_

_"No big brother, you listen to me! I am pregnant and hormonal and I won't take you cutting in all the time!" She glared at her brother before continuing "You push everyone away, Luke. You do. You told Lorelai she belonged with someone like Christopher when you know that's not true. You pushed Rachel away every time she came back because you thought she would leave-"_

_"She did leave!" Luke protested, pacing on the porch._

_"She did, after you pushed her away! Don't you see? You expect the worst from every woman you've been with. Lorelai has been kind to you, Luke. She could have easily just let you believe that this baby wasn't yours. But she didn't. She wants you to be involved. Let her want you. No more excuses."_

"Ah, geez." Luke said to himself as he went through the conversation in his mind, over and over again. He looked towards the house and saw that some lights were still on. Deciding that Lorelai was probably still awake, he got out of the truck and quietly walked towards the door. He knocked lightly, hoping she would answer.

After a few footsteps, the doorknob turned and the door opened to reveal Lorelai, looking at him quizzically. She was wearing her glasses, which were slightly off-centre, and pyjamas that really accentuated the curve of her hips and Luke noted her noticeably larger breasts and her rounded belly. He was surprised, he hadn't actually paid attention to her appearance this much the last few times they had seen each other. He thought she looked beautiful. Clearing his throat nervously, he made eye contact.

"Sorry uh, were you asleep? I saw your lights on and uh-"

"No," She mumbled, running her hand over her hair in an attempt to smooth it somehow. "Yes. I think I fell asleep on the couch. It's fine. What do you want?" She asked now somewhat impatiently, remembering that she was mad at him.

"Can we talk?"

"What, so that I can listen to your excuses? No. It's 10.30, go away Luke."

"Lorelai, please. I don't have excuses. I talked to Liz and she helped me realise everything I've done wrong. Please just hear me out."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. Crossing her arms and resting them over her belly, she sighed. "Go on."

"I haven't been fair to you. When I said I was all in at the start, I thought I was but... obviously, I wasn't. I was intimidated by where you come from. I didn't think I was good enough, in fact I know now I'm not good enough for you, but not in the same way. For years I was just Luke and you've always been Lorelai Gilmore. I put you on a pedestal. My expectations were far too high and, I can't believe I'm saying this but, I almost went looking for things to get mad about. I know that now. I used April as an excuse to push you away, and that wasn't fair on you. I so wanted to marry you, believe me. I was just afraid of being all in, and then losing you."

"You lost me anyway." Lorelai said bluntly. "Look, as much as I would love to do a Dr. Phil re-enactment right now, I should really get to bed. I'll call you when I can, okay."

"Ah. Sure." Luke said, watching as she shut the door. So this was what it felt like, to put yourself out there. "I guess I deserved that." He told himself.


	6. I Ache For Us

Fire Meet Gasoline

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews! I can't express just how much I love hearing your thoughts. Just a few points in response to some specific questions that have been asked, without giving too much away; this is what I have planned for the next few chapters:**

**-Luke realises that he seriously is a douche and he needs to change, really change and not just ponder about it in a broody manner**

**-This realisation comes after another lecture from someone unexpected**

**-Anna/April custody stuff**

**-The whole town finally gets confirmation that the baby is Luke's**

**-More Lorelai-centric stuff, i.e. how she's really doing**

**Also, this is your 30 second smut warning...you have been warned**

* * *

"You know, I still think there's a spot on the wall somewhere where my dad took an order one day when he ran out of paper," Luke said, walking slowly towards Lorelai as she fumbled with the ice cold beer in her hand.

"Really?" She asked, squinting her eyes inquisitively "where?"

"I don't know," Luke thought aloud, looking around "Behind the counter maybe."

Lorelai got off her stool and watched him mysteriously as she made her way behind the counter to look. "Next to the door?"

'God, he's cute when he's being all sentimental.' She thought to herself, still watching him. "On the right side?" He asked.

She inhaled with a dramatic gasp as she found the spot where the order for hardware supplies was scribbled on with what looked like permanent marker. "Ohhhh. Huh," she seated herself on the floor by the spot. "Here it is," She looked up at Luke who had made his way around the counter and was now sitting himself on the floor with her. "Three hammers, phillips-head screwdriver,-"

"And three boxes of nails, in assorted sizes." Luke concluded. "I've seen it from time to time," He smiled as Lorelai smiled back, impressed. "Yeah well, I... guess it is time for a little spruce."

"Yeah," She agreed, looking around her "it is. But let's not spruce this particular spot." She said quietly.

"That sounds good." He smiled more. 'God, he looks good when he smiles like that. He hardly ever smiles like that.'

They looked at each other for a few seconds longer, before they heard voices at the door of the diner. "Aw, geez!" Luke said as he started to get up.

"No, no, don't get up!" She said, placing a firm hand on his side to push him back down.

"But if I don't-"

"They'll go away. They'll go away, trust me. Shh!" She said quietly, bemused by the situation. She crawled to the end of the counter, which was hiding them from the prying eyes of the townspeople currently pressed up to the glass of the door. They laughed as Taylor Doose gave up and went away with a final squinted look into the dark diner.

"Thank you," Luke said, his large body now partially covering hers as they crouched.

"You're welcome," she laughed, turning her head and not realising how close their faces were until then. She looked into his eyes, wishing she could know what she was thinking. Unconsciously, she bit her lip as she tried to think of something to say to avoid doing anything that might result in her never being able to eat at Luke's again. 'Screw it,' she thought as she moved forward, crushing her lips into his. She heard him put his beer down before she felt his strong arms snaking around her, cushioning her back as he gently pushed her to the floor placed himself on top of her, resting his weight on his knees on either side of one of her legs, deepening their kiss. The coldness of the floor and the warmth of his large body on top of the floor seemed to heighten the experience for her as she smoothed her hands up his back and across his broad shoulders, earning a small groan of approval.

"Lorelai," He whispered, breaking off the kiss "wha-"

"Shhh," She interrupted, looking at him with lust-filled eyes. "Fuck me, Luke," She continued, sliding her hand from his shoulder, down his shirt, stopping to tease him at the waist, then going on to cup his impressive erection through the rough material of his jeans. "Don't you wanna fuck me?" She asked seductively, already knowing what his answer would be. Not waiting for his response, she moved her hands to his ass, his perfect, taut ass, and moaned as she grazed his rough jawline with her soft lips.

"I do, but-" he swallowed hard, unsure of what to do - he had wanted her for years, but what was this to her? If he said yes and fucked her, what would that make them?

"Stop thinking," She told him gently "please," she whispered, placing soft kisses along his jaw and down his neck "please Luke, I need you. I want-ohhhhh." She moaned as she was interrupted by him using his free arm to caress her heat through her jeans. "Please..." She whispered again, fumbling with his belt buckle, signalling her urgency. He reclaimed his arm from behind her and pushed himself into a kneeling position, undoing his belt buckle and jeans but never taking his eyes off her. She met his gaze, unbuttoning her own jeans and shimmying them off, revealing her pink Hello Kitty underwear. Luke chuckled, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"It's laundry day!" She said defensively, lifting her ass up as she started to take them off. She felt his hands cover hers, then replace hers on the underwear, pulling them down himself with a small groan as the soft curls surrounding her heat were revealed. She sighed deeply, remembering that they were on the floor behind the counter at Luke's Diner. She felt herself becoming wetter, the thrill of the location exciting her even more. Placing one leg on either side of his waist, she tugged at the collar of his shirt, needing to feel his lips against hers again.

"Beautiful," Luke muttered, making his way up to her face, stopping at her collarbone to start a trail of kisses. With one hand on the floor, hoisting himself up, he slid the other hand across her waist, and down her stomach until he reached her soft folds. She gasped as he caressed her clit with the pad of his finger, biting her lip to stop herself from moaning too loudly. "You're so wet, Lorelai," He groaned as she wrapped her legs around him, knowing that her climax was imminent.

"Uh, mmmmm" was all she could muster as she closed her eyes and lulled her head back, gripping the material of the flannel shirt he was still wearing as she lifted her hips slightly, urging him on. She hissed as he stopped caressing her sensitive nub, instead parting her folds with his finger and using his thumb to rub her clit in a circular motion at the same time. He sunk his finger deeper into her wet warmth, feeling himself getting harder as she tightened her walls around his digit. She moaned, her hips meeting each thrust of his finger, her eyes finding his again as the waves of orgasm rippled through her entire body. She loosened the grip of her legs around him as he reclaimed his hands to push his jeans and boxer briefs down, his erection bouncing as the thin material of his boxers pulled past.

Lorelai's eyes widened with sheer wanton need as she looked at his throbbing manhood, darting her tongue out to wet her lips. She sat up, pushing him into a sitting position and wrapped her legs around him once more, the tip of his hardened cock teasing her.

"Fuck me," she moaned into his ear, the smell of his scent making her dizzy. He obliged, running his hands down her back until he reached her ass, squeezing it as he took her in both hands and lifted her slightly, and lowered her directly onto his aching erection. They hissed in unison as her walls stretched to accommodate him. He lowered his head, catching her rosy nipple in his mouth as he lifted her up and down on his cock. She gasped as he started to suckle, the intensity of both rounds of attention sending her into a dizzy spell. His quiet groans and her small moans intertwined, providing a rhythm for the surges of pleasure coursing through her.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! She heard the sound of an alarm clock going off, pulling her out of her primal concentration. Dazed and confused, she looked around her to find that she was in her bed. "Aw, geez." She said to herself, running her hand through her hair as she listened to her pulse racing in her ears.

* * *

Later that day, after the lunch rush at the Inn, Lorelai found herself wandering into Sookie's kitchen. She was still feeling unnerved by the dream she'd had. It felt so real, she was almost disappointed when she woke up. Mixing memories with her fantasies wasn't really something she had delved into before, especially now when she really didn't want to be fantasising about Luke.

"Hey honey, are you okay?" Sookie asked when she noticed her friend near the door, slumped against one of the counters, staring into space.

"Oh, yeah." Lorelai responded, composing herself. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Have you ever...had a wet dream?"

"Lorelai!" Sookie giggled "well...of course I have." She whispered. "Why?"

"I had one last night." She muttered, avoiding her friend's gaze "about Luke."

"Aw honey," She laid a hand on Lorelai's arm gently "I think that's perfectly normal. You're having his baby, he's on your mind. You have this huge history together."

"I guess," Lorelai sighed. "God, this whole thing was so much easier the first time, you know. I ran away and it was the best thing for everyone, but now, I wouldn't even dream of doing something like that. I don't know, I guess I'm freaking out about being a single mom again."

"That sounds normal too sweetie, I mean, anyone would be freaking out." Sookie hugged her "but you know that you'll always have me, right?"

"Of course. But you know it's not the same. I had a plan. I made some of those plans with him. Get married, maybe pop a few kids out, grow old and fat together. Now what? Pop this kid out, share custody, grow old and fat alone forever?" Lorelai cried, her breathing becoming shallow and ragged. She started to pace around the kitchen, back and forth between the squash and the pastries. "I'm freaking out! I mean the dream, there was paint and Taylor and Hello Kitty!"

"Um...I don't think I wanna know what happened with those things in your wet dream..." Sookie laughed. She grabbed Lorelai's hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "Lorelai. You've done this before. Look how great Rory turned out. You can do it again. Trust me. Now, repeat after me. Everything. Will. Work. Out."

"Everything will work out." Lorelai sighed, blinking away the tears that escaped from her eyes. She hoped Sookie was right. "I need coffee."

* * *

It was a few hours after the dinner rush at Luke's, and he was going through his closing routine. April was upstairs in the apartment working on a homework assignment, something about the rock polishing process. He went into the kitchen to look for a clean cloth to wipe the counter down with, when he heard the bells on the door ringing. "We're closed!" He yelled as he walked back into the main area.

"Rory!" He said with surprise. "What uh...aren't you supposed to be at Yale? It's Tuesday."

"Yeah, we need to talk. Again."

"This doesn't sound good." He muttered, wringing his hands nervously. Rory perched herself on a stool, sitting directly opposite to where he was behind the counter.

"I'll just get straight to it, Luke. As I've said before, you were always like a dad to me -note my use of the past tense- and because of this, I feel that I should be the one to tell you that you're a jerk."

"Hey!-"

"Luke, listen!" Rory said, holding her hand up. "I heard about your self revelation or whatever, but you need to do more than just realise what you've done wrong. You need to fix it. You need to change, so that you don't do anything else wrong. Are you following?"

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing. You're having a baby. With my mother. A baby, a new person. My dad had a new baby with someone else, and the way he handled it hurt me so much more than when he just didn't bother with me at all. We used to go years without seeing him and I didn't care. But then he wedged his way back into our lives, he and my mom were gonna be together again and I got my hopes up. I got my hopes up, and he ditched me to have a kid with someone else. He didn't have to completely ditch me, but he did. And then you, YOU, you did the same thing!"

"What?!"

"You never missed a single one of my birthdays since I was 11, you were always there for us, you were always there for me. But you were Luke, I never actually imagined you being my dad. Mom didn't even know she had feelings for you and if you hadn't pursued her she might have never known. But you did! You made her love you, you agreed to marry her and then you changed your mind. Did you even think what that was like for me? Did you even think what it was like to be replaced not by one dad, but two? You found out about April and then nothing else mattered to you. You used her as an excuse to push us away!"

"No, I didn't think-"

"It doesn't matter anymore. Just do NOT do that to this new little girl!" Rory yelled, now visibly upset after going through all of her feelings.

"What? It's a girl?" Luke asked in shock.

"Oh. Yeah...I guess mom hasn't told you."

"She's not really talking to me right now so, no. Aw, God." He walked around the counter to take a seat next to Rory. "Another little girl," he smiled, looking down at his hands.

"Another Gilmore girl," Rory said.

"You were right. I didn't think about what any of it did to you." Luke nodded. "You were like my little girl before I even knew April existed. I'm sorry."

Rory just nodded as they both sat on their stools, staring at the wall on the other side of the counter in a comfortable silence.

Unknown to the two of them, Kirk had been at the door of the diner the entire time, hiding with his ear pressed to the door. He immediately stood up, turned around and began to run around the square shouting "LORELAI IS HAVING LUKE'S BABY!"


	7. Come A Little Closer

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

**Do I like reviews? Only with my oxygen.**

* * *

Startled by the sound of rampant knocking at her door, Lorelai jumped out of bed still half-asleep, noticing through her groggy eyes that it was almost midnight. "Who the hell is that..." She murmured, trying to hold her balance as she made her way into the hallway and down the stairs. "Whoever you are, you better have a good reason for waking me up!" She grumbled as she reached the door, fumbling with the knob before opening it.

"Doll I'm so sorry!" Babette shrieked, which combined with the cold wind sweeping in through the opened door, made Lorelai practically jump out of her skin. Babette made her way through the door uninvited, looking completely wired.

"Babette? It's midnight," she groaned, shoving the door shut with one hand as she rubbed her eyes with the other. "What's going on?"

"I couldn't sleep after I heard!"

"Heard what?" Lorelai asked, gesturing towards the living room.

"About the baby!" Babette responded, wide eyed, sitting herself in an armchair as Lorelai flopped onto the sofa.

"Yeah, Babette I told you about the baby" she told her neighbour. "That's how the whole town found out, remember?"

"I mean that Luke's the father!"

"What?" Lorelai sat up, suddenly feeling wide awake. "Who told you that?"

"Well you know Kirk and how he likes to spy on people, that boy really does need to be checked out by a professional, well he overheard Rory and Luke talking in the diner! Aw honey I haven't been able to sleep thinkin' about it!" Babette explained.

"So everyone knows now?"

"Well East Side Tilly heard Kirk running around the square shouting about it, and so did Miss Patty, so Miss Patty called Tilly who called me and well you know how that goes."

"Great. Well, I didn't expect it to be some kinda secret but I didn't expect it to be town news either." Lorelai sighed, leaning back to rest her head on the couch. She took a deep breath as she felt her abdomen tighten slightly, smoothing her hand over it as she released her breath.

"You okay sugar?" Babette asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Oh," Lorelai opened her eyes, sitting up again. "Just Braxton Hicks. I'm at the end of my second trimester now so the Braxton Hicks, they're starting now."

"Okay honey, if you're sure. Are you and Luke okay?"

"We will be. We have to be." She smiled sadly, making a reminder for herself to call Rory and ask what she was talking to Luke about.

* * *

"Cellphone, purse, keys...keys!" Lorelai muttered to herself, frantically darting her head from every surface in the foyer looking for her keys. "Aha!" She exclaimed as she found them underneath a small pile of opened mail on the side table. She clutched the keys as she quickly smoothed her hands over her outfit for the day.

"Did you find them?" Rory asked, emerging from the hallway leading to the kitchen.

"Yep, all set!"

"Wow, that's a really nice suit," Her daughter said, eyeing the charcoal single-button blazer over a white top and streamlined trousers. "Who knew pregnancy could look so runway?"

"Ha, thanks kid. Let's hope the DAR approve!" Lorelai shrugged, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

"They probably won't," Rory joked, "but good luck anyway!"

"What are your plans for the day?"

"You mean apart from coming to the Dragonfly later to watch Grandma and my DAR 'ladies' torture you?"

"Har, har. Wh-" Before Lorelai could continue, she was interrupted by the sound of an incessant banging coming from right outside the front door.

"What the hell is that?!" Rory said as Lorelai opened said door. She sighed loudly, placing her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Luke." She stated, Rory coming up beside her to see who was making the racket. Luke looked up at them both, smiling as he waved his hammer.

"Hey!"

"Um...hey?" Lorelai asked, throwing her hands in the air to express her confusion. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Fixing the porch rail." Luke told her as he turned to his toolbox to root around for the right nails.

"Fixing the porch rail? The porch rail doesn't need to be fixed. My porch rail isn't yours to fix anymore!"

"You told me months ago that I needed to fix it. And yeah, it did need to be fixed. Health and safety hazard. So here I am, fixing it." He smiled again. Creeped out by his cheerful demeanour, she let out an exasperated sigh and quickly shuffled out the door and towards her car.

"Have a nice day!" Rory yelled after her, chuckling. "Hey, Luke?"

"Mmhmm?"

"I have a list of things that need to be fixed in the house." She said, reaching into her pocket to retrieve a list that Luke could have sworn was about a foot long.

* * *

"So then I open the door, and there's Luke, fixing the porch rail! Like he has the right to just come and fix my porch rail! Who does he think he is, fixing my porch rail like that?" Lorelai reported at lightning speed as she paced the length of the Dragonfly kitchen, nursing a concoction of half-decaf and half-regular coffee.

"You've said porch rail so many times that I'm starting to think it might be some kinda euphemism..." Sookie said, holding her hands up in the air as her best friend shot her a look "Sorry, couldn't help it!"

"I sound crazy," Lorelai sighed, stopping to take a big gulp of coffee.

"You have every right to be crazy or confused about it. Maybe he's trying to win your trust back or somethin'?"

"By fixing my porch rail?" She scrunched her face up as she became even more confused. The only thing that made sense to her right now was this cup of coffee, and even that was half-decaf.

"Well, no," Sookie admitted as she started chopping up portobello mushrooms "but he can't exactly win your trust back if he stays away from you, can he? Maybe you should give him another chance. See what he's up to."

"I'll think about it," She groaned. "Hey, it's Thanksgiving in a few weeks. What are we doing?"

Sookie snorted, "We are doing nothing. Jackson's doing the cooking against this year."

"You know what I mean,"

"Geez lady, pregnancy has got you testy!"

"I'm sorry. I just feel so drained with all this Luke stuff, I haven't slept well in the last week or so, since that night Babette knocked on my door. I feel like people are just gonna keep knocking at stupid o'clock whenever they have a question about my life!"

"Well, adhering to privacy has never been this town's forte," Sookie chuckled "shall we have Thanksgiving at your place?"

"That'd be nice," Lorelai smiled at the thought "It's been a while since we've had a full house."

"Oh, it'll be full alright. Jackson, me, Davey and Martha, you, Rory... Logan?"

"Yeah, I'll ask Rory." She said quietly as she looked at her watch. "Oh, shoot! I have to go out front, the DAR thing is starting in half an hour which means my mom is probably already here."

"Alright, see ya later!" Sookie yelled after her as she dashed out of the kitchen.

She rushed as fast as her feet would take her, through the dining room and the lounge, coming to a halt at the foyer as her mother had just stepped in.

"Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed with disapproval seeping through her tone "should you really be rushing around like that?"

"I'm with child mother, not a lepper." Lorelai quipped as she caught her breath. Placing one arm on her mother's back and the other on her arm, she guided her towards the dining room. "This way, mom" She said with a smile plastered on her face.

"Are these the linens I asked for?" Emily asked as she eyed the table linens beadily.

"Yes mother, you chose the off-white and this is the off-white." She told her, reclaiming her hands and reaching out to finger the corner of one of the soft tablecloths.

"Huh. I thought I chose the cream."

"No, the cream was... creamier." She said drolly. 'Oy with the linens already,' She thought to herself. This was going to be a long, long day.

* * *

"You don't have to be rich, to be my girl, you don't have to be cool to rule my world," Lorelai belted out of key as she pulled into her driveway later that night to pick up Rory.

"Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with, I just want your extra time and your," Rory paused to make smooching noses as she opened the door to the passenger's side of the Wrangler, and climbed in "kiss!" She acknowledged her mother before proceeding to play the air guitar.

"That's my little protégé," Lorelai beamed proudly as she waited for Rory to get buckled in before reversing out onto the road.

"So where do you wanna get dinner?"

"Luke's?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, pleeeease? I'm jonesing for a burger. Plus you have to talk to him at some point. He practically just fixed the whole house today."

"Fine. I really want a burger too. I think Jojo's are still trying to solve their cockroach infestation." She said bluntly as she turned the corner, stopping outside Luke's.

"O-kay. No more Jojo's B.W.R nights for us then." Rory decided, shuddering. She turned the volume up on the CD player and started screeching the end of the song just as Lorelai started to do the same "AIN'T NO PARTICULAR SIGN I'M MORE COMPATIBLE WITH, I JUST WANT YOUR EXTRA TIME AND YOUR... KISS!"

* * *

"What time is Logan arriving?" Sookie asked Rory as they sat at the kitchen table, peeling potatoes together.

"He should be here in a couple of hours. He was in New York on business, he's coming here and then we're catching our flight to London on Friday."

"Wow, he sure does get to travel a lot, huh?"

"Yeah. I think he enjoys it though," Rory assured her. "So why are we peeling the potatoes now? You used to make the potatoes on Thanksgiving."

"Yeah well, now with Davey and Martha, I wouldn't wanna end up being too busy tomorrow and forgetting something." She winked, peeling her potatoes at wizard speed while Rory had been peeling the same one for ten minutes.

"Touché," Rory quipped, throwing the half-peeled potato into the 'peeled' bucket.

"Okay," Lorelai said as she padded into the kitchen, pulling her coat on and grabbing a pen and a pad of paper. "Let me know what else we need for tomorrow. I'm gonna head into town now," She stuck her tongue out slightly as she rested the pad in her hand and scribbled on it. "Marshmallows...more marshmallows..."

"Don't forget the pie!" Sookie piped up excitably "I've got a real hankering for pie made by someone else this year,"

"Pie..."

"Do we have enough pans and whatnot? Do we have any pans?" Rory asked, concerned.

"You have some pans... I think."

"Don't count on it, Sooks. Pans..." She muttered, still scribbling.

Half an hour later, Lorelai left the house with a list longer than her forearm. Deciding it probably wasn't worth trying to button up her coat over her seven-month baby bump, she walked into town, breathing in the cool crisp Autumn-almost-Winter air. With her list in hand, she thought it would be best to head to Weston's first, to get the pie. Leaving the cold behind her, she strolled into the quaint little cafe/cake shop, still staring at her list. "Ow!" She exclaimed as she bumped into someone in front of her. "Sorry," she muttered, looking up from the list.

"Oh, hey" She greeted, putting her list down by her side and resting her other hand on her stomach.

"Uh, hey," Luke smiled. "Long list, huh?" He asked, gesturing to the piece of paper she was now holding by her side.

"Oh. Yeah, umm you know, last minute things. Hi April!" Lorelai gave a small wave to the dark-haired girl glued to Luke's side.

"Hey Lorelai," She said cheerfully "wow." Her eyes widened as her gaze set upon Lorelai's stomach. "Sorry," April looked from her Dad to Lorelai, "I still can't believe I'm going to have a baby sister!"

Lorelai smiled widely at April's words. "She's actually awake right now, do you wanna feel?" She moved her own hand, inviting April to rest hers on her belly.

"Uhm, yes! Of course!" She squealed, earning a grin from Luke. As soon as she placed her hand on the top of Lorelai's stomach, she felt movement underneath the soft cashmere sweater she was wearing. "Oh my God!" She squealed again, mouth wide open.

"Next!" The assistant behind the counter yelled.

"Oh, that's you," Luke told Lorelai, moving to the side to let her pass. April slowly took her hand back, now beaming.

"Ah, I just need to get a pie. Wait here?" She asked as she approached the counter. Less than ten seconds later, she came back, now frowning.

"What's the matter?" Luke asked.

"They're outta pie!" Lorelai said, running her hand over her winter hat. "Sookie's gonna kill me!"

"Can't she make pie?" April asked, confused as to why a chef would get pie anywhere else.

"She's not up for it this year. Something about too much effort going into a pie that disappears as soon as it's served."

"O-kay..." April looked at Luke "you make good pie!"

"Oh, uh, I'm all out today I'm afraid." He said, adjusting his cap nervously.

Both April and Lorelai pouted. "Oh, how rude of me. I didn't even ask! What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, Anna still hasn't come back from New Mexico so, April and I were just gonna have Liz, T.J and Doula over for dinner. How about you?"

"Um let's see, we're having the Bellevilles, Rory and Logan, the Gilmores and of course me and this little one," Lorelai counted before resting her hand on her belly again. "You guys should come too!"

"All of us?" Luke and April both asked at the same time.

"Sure! We haven't had a big gathering in a long time. When better to do it than Thanksgiving, right?"

"Uh, I don't know..." Luke said, looking at April, expecting her to sense his reluctance. He didn't want to intrude, especially when Lorelai's parents were going to be there.

"We'll be there!" April agreed before clapping her hands excitedly. Luke groaned silently. 'Little traitor', he thought to himself. "Come on Dad, it'll be fun!"

"Sure," he sighed. He was looking forward to spending some real time with Lorelai for the first time in a very long time, but he was afraid T.J would say something stupid - especially considering how high the Gilmores' standards were.


	8. So Come On Now

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

"Okay so, the turkey's in the oven, potatoes are done, yams are done, popovers?" Lorelai asked, helping Sookie untie her apron so that she could enjoy the rest of the day.

"Popovers are done and ready to be reheated when required!" Rory called out. "What time is everyone else arriving? I'm so excited, I can't believe you invited Luke and April!"

"And Liz, T.J and Doula, too..." Lorelai reminded her.

"Who?" Logan asked, taking a swig out of his scotch.

"Liz is Luke's sister, T.J is her husband, well his real name is Gary, and Doula is their tiny little baby." Rory told him, squeezing his hand in hers.

"I thought a Doula was one of those midwife types? There's a doula coming to thanksgiving?" He asked again, more puzzled than before.

"A doula is not the be confused with a midwife," Lorelai shook her index finger at him. "A doula is there for support during pregnancy and birth. In this case, Doula is Liz and TJ's daughter."

"Luke's niece is a doula?"

"Not a doula, her name is Doula. She's two weeks old." Sookie chimed in.

"Ah. Okay. Obviously." Logan laughed, swirling his drink.

Lorelai went into Rory's room to use her mirror one last time. "Oh," she said as she smoothed her hair "and I told everyone to come at 12 so we should expect people to start arriving soon."

"Yeah, it's noon now." Rory said. "mom?" She asked, getting up when there was no response.

"Listen," Sookie said quietly. All three of them stayed in silence for a moment, listening to snores coming from Rory's room.

"But she was awake, like thirty seconds ago!"

"Don't question it, hon." Sookie laughed as she made herself a sidecar.

* * *

"April! Luke! Liz! TJ! Come on in guys," Rory said as she ushered the group in. "Can I take your coats?"

"Oh, I'll do that," Luke offered as he collected everyone's coats and scarves. "Should I put them in your room?"

"Sure, but just so you know, mom's asleep in there."

"Ah, okay." He nodded, walking through to the kitchen. Turning in to Rory's bedroom, he could hear tiny snores getting closer and closer. He slowly laid the coats on the chair in the corner of the room before backing up to make a quiet exit.

"Hey," Lorelai said softly, rubbing her eyes. "When did you get here?"

Luke turned to see that she was laying on Rory's bed, curled up with far too many pillows. "Uh, we just got here. I was just putting the coats away. Sorry if I woke you,"

"No you didn't," she responded, sitting up. "She did." Lorelai laughed as she looked down at her stomach. "It's like she knows when you're around." She looked up at him, smiling. She shuffled to the left and backwards, leaning her back against the headboard of the bed and patted her lap. "Do you wanna come talk to her?"

"Of course, I'd love to," Luke said, walking towards her and positioning himself in the very narrow space that was left on the bed. She patted her lap once more, ensuring him that it was okay. He moved his head onto her lap, drinking in her intoxicating scent as his nose grazed her protruding belly. Not sure where to put her hands, Lorelai rested them atop her bump. "Hey there, little one." He said. "Uh, I've never done this before, so I gotta admit, it's kinda weird...whoa!" He exclaimed as he was interrupted by a kick.

Lorelai giggled and said, "cool, huh?"

"Very cool," Luke agreed before clearing his throat and continuing "so uh, I'm your dad, but you'll find that out soon enough. But not too soon, you hear?" He laughed as he was met by another kick, this time on his nose. He looked up to see Lorelai meeting his gaze, and he realised he had forgotten just how much he loved looking at her.

"Hey, Lorelai, are you awake- awwwwwwww!" Sookie said as she walked in on the moment. "Well that is just adorable!" Luke jumped up into a sitting position, "ahh come on, don't stop on my account!"

"Hi Sookie," Lorelai grinned as Luke ran his hand through his hair awkwardly.

"Jackson used to talk to Davey and Martha when I was pregnant," Sookie informed them excitably "it was amazing 'cause as soon as they were born, his voice was like magic - he could soothe them from a mile away!"

"That's nice," Luke said, still embarrassed. "Uh, I'm gonna go join the rest of the group. Thank you," he added, turning to Lorelai, who was now pushing herself up off the bed.

"You're welcome," she told him with a smile as he helped her up. "Thanks."

Luke nodded and went past Sookie towards the living room.

"That was nice of you," Sookie told Lorelai. "So I guess things have been getting better with you two?"

"Well we've talked a few times. He seems like he's really trying to make amends. I want our baby to know her dad, you know? Especially since he lives in the same town. I think she deserves that much. Plus," she smoothed out her clothes and walked towards the door "April told me he's been going to therapy." She whispered.

"Seriously?" Sookie gasped "wow...he really is trying. Well, good for him."

"I think so, too." Lorelai nodded.

"Anyway, I came in here to ask - um, oh, shoot! I can't remember now!" Sookie sighed, hanging her head with disappointment.

"It'll come back to ya,"

Just as the two women made their way to join the rest of the party, the phone started to ring. "Let the answering machine get it!" Lorelai whispered when everyone else fell silent.

"Why are you whispering?" Rory whispered in response.

"Why are you whispering?" Logan asked her.

"Because they might hear us!" Lorelai exclaimed, still whispering.

"Who?" Sookie whispered.

"Whoever's calling!" Liz whispered.

"Stop whispering!" Rory whispered.

"Seriously why are you whispering?" Luke asked.

"Is whispering even a word anymore?" Lorelai asked, shuffling quietly as though whoever was calling might hear.

"Okay, this is ridiculous." April said in a regular tone.

"Sssshhhhh!" Everyone else whispered.

Beep! _'Lorelai, this is your mother. I know you're there. Anyhow, your father and I are unable to attend your thanksgiving dinner today. I will call you again soon, please be sure to answer it next time.' _

Everyone sighed in relief when the message ended. "That's why we were whispering," Lorelai stated, as though it was obvious. "Emily Gilmore hears all."

* * *

After rooting through the closet for a few minutes, Rory yelled a triumphant 'aha!' before coming out into the hallway and asking, "who wants to play 'Bop It!'?"

Lorelai and Luke looked at each other, both remembering the night that consisted of JoJo's, Pippi, barking for popcorn and 'Bop It!'. Lorelai laughed, while Luke said "absolutely not. Thanks."

"God, she's beautiful." Lorelai said as Liz cradled baby Doula in her arms.

"You wanna hold her?" Liz asked as she perched herself next to her on the sofa.

"Oh my, yes please," Lorelai sighed, holding her arms out as Liz carefully placed the sleeping baby in the crook of her elbow. "It's been such a long time since I had one of these," she whispered as she stroked Doula's adorable, soft cheek.

"Not long 'til ya have another one!" TJ said, jerking his beer at her.

"Yeah, we'll have a smushy little baby in the house." Rory said as Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Although she's not allowed to turn up until I'm back from London!"

"How long will you be in London?" April asked Rory, before adding "that is so cool!"

"Six weeks," Rory told her.

"Six long, long weeks!" Lorelai said, not taking her eyes off baby Doula, who was comfortably snoring in her arms.

"wait, so you're gonna be completely alone for six weeks?" Liz asked her, looking at Luke.

"Not completely," Lorelai told her "I mean, I still have to work. I'll just miss the weekends with Rory since she'd usually be in New Haven anyway."

"Is there any pie left?" TJ asked after a moment of silence.

"I hope so. We brought three..." Luke said as he stalked off into the kitchen.

"Oh God, I need pie right now!" Lorelai exclaimed, carefully handing the pink bundle of baby back to Liz. Once she was sure Doula was safe in her mother's arms, she followed Luke into the kitchen.

"Thanks so much for bringing pie," she told him. "What kind have you got?"

"Cherry, boysenberry and pumpkin," he said, pointing to each pie as he named them.

"Boysenberry, huh?" She winked at him as she grabbed a plate.

"Uh, yeah" Luke blushed "it's your favourite. It's still your favourite, right?"

"It sure is," she smiled at him, edging closer towards him (and the pie). "Uhhhhhhhhh God." She groaned suddenly, setting the plate down and using her free hand to squeeze Luke's arm.

"Lorelai, what's wrong?" He asked as she crouched, squeezing his arm harder.

"Mm," she groaned again before releasing her grip on his arm. "Sorry," she said as she straightened herself. "Braxton hicks."

"Who?"

"Braxton hicks," she laughed "they're like practice contractions. Nothing to worry about, I just need a glass of water."

"Here," Luke took a fresh glass out of the cupboard and went to fill it with water "sit," he told her as he handed her the water.

"Thank you," she said as she sat on a chair at the kitchen table. She took a sip of water before looking at him to find that he was looking right back at her. "I promise I'm fine." She chuckled, hoping to ease his concern a little. He gave a small nod before turning back to the pies.

"I bought a house," he said casually as he turned to hand her a plate with her piece of boysenberry pie.

"Um. What?" Lorelai asked, taking the plate from him. "Thanks."

"Well, not a house. The Twickham house. I bought it again, I guess."

"You bought the Twickham house. Wow." She looked at the pie "I didn't know it was even still available."

"Yeah, I didn't think it was either, but it was so. I bought it. I don't know how long April is gonna be with me, but I figured she should have her own space you know..."

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

Luke sighed and pulled out the chair next to Lorelai. Sitting down, he ran his hand over his hair and lowered his voice. "Well, I don't know much but, from what I do know, it doesn't seem like Anna's coming back."

"Ever?" Lorelai asked in shock. Luke nodded, wringing his hands together. "But, April- why? What? Why isn't she-"

"The last I heard from her, she'd met a guy in New Mexico. She hasn't called in a month. Not even to talk to April."

"Oh my god," Lorelai whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. "How's April? She's gotta be missing her mom. Oh, poor kid."

"She hasn't said anything to me, and I don't wanna upset her by bringing it up. But I think I'm gonna start the process of getting full custody of her...I mean, if that's what April wants."

"Well then, you should talk to her. Really talk to her, find out how she is. I can't believe Anna would do that. She seemed crazy about April."

"I know. Believe me, no one is more shocked than I am. When I call her, there's no answer. I've left tonnes of messages. I even resorted to sending a letter." Luke told her, folding his arms as he leaned back into the chair. "She left for New Mexico two months ago. I thought she'd be gone for a week, maybe two." He leaned forward again, resting his arms on the table.

"How are you doing?" Lorelai asked as she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Honestly?" He looked at her and she felt as though he was looking right into her with those dark blue eyes "I'm freaking out. Not about April though. I mean. I'm concerned, I hope Anna is okay and I hope April will be okay with all of this but most of all, I'm freaking out about us." He squeezed her hand lightly before letting go.

"Us?"

"Well, yeah. I'm pretty freaked out that our baby is going to be here in less than a couple of months and I've hardly been here for either of you. I'm freaked out that in these months apart we've both changed so much as people. Aren't you freaked out?"

"Well...yeah," Lorelai admitted, shocked at how honest and thorough Luke was being. "I am freaking out. I haven't really felt like myself, it's been really lonely. I have too much baby stuff and no where to put it all," she laughed "and this is probably the first time we've really spoken to each other in a long time, instead of fighting or yelling."

Luke sighed, folding his arms, then unfolding them yet again and resting his hands on his knees. "Lorelai I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am, I-"

"Hey," she gently interrupted "I know. But how about we both stop being sorry and start fresh?"

"That sounds good." Luke agreed. They smiled as they looked at one another, enjoying each other's presence as they listened to the rest of their big, dysfunctional family tearing each other apart over 'Bop It!'.


	9. I Want What I Want

**Fire Meet Gasoline**

**A re-write from near the end of season six, onwards, with more angst and some adult content. Maybe. I haven't decided yet ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gilmore Girls. ASP 4eva.**

**Okay, so. Sorry for the confusion. This is the first chapter filling in the gaps between the porch fixing and Thanksgiving.**

* * *

Three Weeks Ago

Rory slowed down as she reached Babette and Morey's house, pulling into the drive of the Crap Shack, savouring the sound of the small pops and crunches of the gravel under her tyres. Noticing that the Wrangler was not there, she retrieved her cellphone with the intention of calling her mother. She stared at the screen as she contemplated the logic behind having its brightness so low while she was in total darkness in her car, when three loud taps on the window next to her caused her to jump.

"Oh my god!" She cried, "You almost gave me a heart attack!" She clutched her chest as she glared at the girl on the other side of the glass, who was now waving. She moved back as Rory grabbed her bag, keys and cellphone and opened the door.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry!" April rushed as Rory climbed out of the Prius.

"It's fine," The older girl told her as she slammed the door shut. "Hi April."

"Hey, so, I guess you're wondering why I'm here," April said, zipping through her words as per.

"Uh...yeah. Why are you? Are you lost, you can use my-"

"No..." She rolled her eyes "I'm not lost. Can we sit?"

"Sure. On the porch." Rory made her way towards the couch on the porch, with April hot on her trail. She put her things down, pushed her hair out of her face and waited. "So..."

"Right, okay," April clapped her hands together "I know this is weird, and I don't have much time, I was just hoping you'd show up this weekend so I told my dad that I was going to the library and I've been sitting here since I got back from school,"

"You've been sitting here for five hours?!"

"Has it been that long? Oh. Well anyway, I won't beat around the bush anymore - I know your mom is pregnant, I've seen her from a distance around town a few times and I'm not stupid. People come into the diner, they talk, they talk about me and my dad and Lorelai and you and your dad and the baby and they think we can't hear them."

"They talk about me? What do they say about me?!"

"I think that's beside the point right now. The point is, both you and I know what it's like to grow up being raised by one parent- right?"

"Right..." Rory echoed.

"Right, and my dad and your mom are having a baby together and by the way things seem to be going, that baby is going to be part of the "I don't really know my dad" club too, do you see what I mean?"

"Yeah but that's Luke's problem, April. I mean I appreciate you coming here and wanting to talk about this but, he's the one who completely pushed my mom out of his life. As soon as he found out about you, he was living a separate life way before that baby was even conceived."

"Wait, what? So he didn't marry Lorelai because of me?" April asked dryly, blinking hard.

"No, no. Well...not directly. Like I said," she placed a reassuring hand on the younger girl's arm "It's Luke's problem to fix. He said a lot, and I mean a lot, of horrible things. My mom did too, but...she just wanted to be left alone after everything he'd done. Do you see what I mean?"

April nodded and used her middle finger to push her glasses back to rest higher on the bridge of her nose. "I guess. Maybe they need a push?"

A twinkle formed in Rory's eye as she pieced everything together. "I think you're right," She leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. "My mom wants proof that Luke is going to change, that he's trying to change and make amends but if my mom is staying out of his way then she won't be able to see anything that he's trying to do..."

"Exactly, and my dad isn't exactly a man of many words. He didn't even tell me that I'm going to be a big sister..."

At that moment they heard the crunching of the gravel in the drive again, along with the familiar sounds of the Wrangler being parked up behind the Prius.

"Oh no. Lorelai's back, what do we do?" April panicked, jumping off the couch and eyeing up her bicycle at the end of the path as though she was trying to come up with an escape plan.

"We'll just tell her the truth. I mean, some of it - the stuff about the baby and the not knowing her dad and how we know how that is and we don't want that for our sister."

"Sister? It's a girl?" April asked, her eyes widening as she gaped at Rory.

"Rory!" Lorelai called as she came closer towards the light of the porch, "Oh...April. What are you doing here? Does Luke know you're here?"

"Uh...um..."

"Yeah," Rory lied "he does. I just wanted to talk to April about some stuff so she came to meet me when I got here."

"Right..." Lorelai looked between the two girls "O-kay."

After an awkward moment of silence, April cracked. "No, he doesn't know! I came here because I really needed to talk to Rory. My dad didn't tell me about the baby, I found out through the grapevine, I freaked out. I'm sorry-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!" Lorelai held her hand up as Rory looked at her with shifty eyes. "Aside from the fact that you just lied to my face ,Rory," She emphasised her daughter's name "April, you're freaking out? Sit," She motioned towards the couch as she took a seat herself.

"I'm freaking out, firstly because of the obvious - he didn't bother to tell me! I mean seriously, this isn't something you just 'forget' to mention!" April ranted at the speed of light.

"Well I feel ya there," Lorelai muttered, earning a nudge in the side from Rory.

"Like seriously, who does that? I'm almost thirteen, it's not like I wouldn't be able to comprehend! And secondly, I don't want my little sibling to be estranged from their dad! *My* dad! If she's estranged from him that means I won't get to know her, and I really, really want to know her."

"Well in regards to the second part of that rant, sponsored by the Energizer bunny, I think your dad would say that that's up to your mom." Lorelai told her.

"That's ridiculous! Why should it be up to my mom, or even my dad? Shouldn't I get a say in whether or not I'm involved?"

"Well why don't you talk to them first?" Rory suggested.

"Hang on. Was this a coup organisation meeting?" Lorelai said suspiciously, darting her eyes between April and Rory.

"Huh?"

"You said...you didn't want your little sibling to be estranged from their dad...were you arranging to overthrow me?!" She gasped dramatically. Standing up, she turned to look at both girls. "There's nothing either of you could say that would make me even think about forgiving Luke right now!"

"No, no, not forgive..." Rory started, looking at April for some kind of back up. "What about... a truce?"

"A truce?" Lorelai placed her hands on her hips, cocking her eyebrow at her daughter.

"Yeah, like, coming back into the diner...dad and I can come here for dinner sometimes maybe...? I mean, if you think about it, it's what's best for the children." April batted her eyelashes.

"Children? What children?"

"Us!" Rory exclaimed impatiently. "You're running around like we're not affected by any of this!"

"Whoa," Lorelai exaggerated a blink as she held her hands up. "You never mentioned anything to me about being affected, or or, upset, or anything!"

"Well I am now!" Rory told her, folding her arms. "Okay. Forget me. Are you really gonna stay mad at Luke for the rest of the pregnancy?"

"I don't want to, but..."

"Then don't! Take the high road. Start fresh! He lied, he pushed you out, you lied, you pushed him out, it's a whole load of lying and pushing but do you really wanna hold on to that?" Rory continued.

Lorelai looked to the ground as she folded her arms and sighed. "Well, no, but..."

"But nothing. You know so well that Luke just isn't good at putting his feelings into words. It took him eight years to pluck up the courage to ask you out!"

"But he hasn't done anything to stop being a total jerk!" Lorelai pointed out, sighing again and looking like she was a three year old about to have a tantrum.

"That's not totally true..." April started, unsure of whether or not her opinion was welcome.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after Rory came into the diner and yelled at him..." she continued as Lorelai shot Rory another look "he decided he needed to work on his communicational skills or something so...he started going to some therapy sessions."

'Luke, in therapy? Fat chance.' Lorelai thought to herself before saying "O-kay... but he didn't even tell you, his daughter, that we're having a baby. What does that tell you?"

"That he's a jerk who thinks he has to prove a point by protecting me from the most mundane of things?"

"True," Rory agreed.

"I'll have to think about all of this." Lorelai stated. "I think we should take you home now." She jerked her head towards the Jeep before turning on her heel to walk towards it.

"I'll help you put your bike in the back," Rory told April as they followed Lorelai.

"So if we're sharing a sister, does that kinda make us sisters?" April asked.

"I don't know...I guess so?"

"So if we're kinda like sisters, does that mean I'm free to borrow some of your books?" Rory stopped and looked at her suspiciously. "I've heard a *lot* about your book collection. It's legend in the diner."

* * *

Once again, Lorelai was met by the dreaded steps heading up to that dreaded diner. April and Rory stopped at a halt behind her, so engulfed in the conversation about their tastes in literature that they hadn't noticed that she was standing there, staring at the door.

"Mom," Rory said, nudging her shoulder.

"You go ahead. Just...just give me a second."

She stood there as Rory and April went in, followed by a muffled "There you are! I've been worried sick!", which she assumed was Luke yelling. She took a deep breath, weighing her options. In some aspects, the girls were right. If she was going to sit around holding a grudge and waiting for Luke to come to her, she'd be waiting forever. She knew that fixing things around her house was his way to start making amends, but for just once, she wanted him to do it her way. Their baby was due in just over three months, so it was a time-sensitive issue. On the other hand, he hadn't even bothered to tell his daughter that there was another baby on the way to begin with. How could she take him seriously if it seemed as though he wasn't being serious about this? She took a deep breath as some customers went past her into the diner, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Clutching her keys in her hand, she exhaled and walked up the steps. "Mom!" She heard Rory call as soon as the jingling of the bells signalled her pushing the door open. "Over here!" Lorelai perused the faces of the few people sitting at tables, before her eyes landed on Rory, who was already sitting with a cup of coffee and a piece of pie.

"Uhhh, you're sitting?! I thought you were just dropping April off."

"But," Rory gestured towards the coffee and the pie. "But the coffee! And the pie! They were whispering "Rory, sit...Rory, eat...""

"Yeah, yeah, sure!" She looked around some more, trying to see if she could spot Luke. "Luke!" She called. He looked at her to acknowledge her call as he poured someone at the counter a cup of coffee, then set the carafe down and nodded towards the curtain leading upstairs. Bracing herself, she made her way to meet him. "Upstairs," She said bluntly as soon as he was within hearing proximity. She made her way up the creaky staircase, stopping in the hall to allow Luke to open the apartment door. He held it open for her, which she walked right through, before he followed her. April was by the window, adjusting her avocado pit.

"Don't mind me, I'm trying to figure out where this needs to be facing for it to receive an optimum amount of light," She muttered.

Turning to look back to Luke, Lorelai took another deep breath. "Don't speak. Just listen. As you already know, April came to see Rory tonight and I ended up talking to her too. Um," She tucked her hair behind her ear as he nodded in acknowledgement of what she had just said. "I've decided to call a truce."

"A truce?"

"A truce. But for this truce to happen, you have to hear me out. Deal?"

"Okay..." Luke agreed, shifting his weight from left to right, unsure of what to expect.

"I needed it to be over. I needed it to be over because I couldn't take it anymore. Yes, I loved you, and yes, I wanted to marry you. But I didn't want a life separate from you, and that's all that you could give me. I didn't want that. I wanted to be with you, and you didn't get that, and I waited. I mean, god, I waited. It's like you were driving a car, and all I wanted was to be in the passenger's seat. But you locked the door, and and so I had to hold onto the bumper, you know? I wasn't even asking you to open the door for me, just leave it open and say "come in". But no, you didn't do that, so I was hanging onto the bumper, and life went on, and the car went on, and I got really badly bruised and I was hitting potholes. And it hurt. I mean, it still hurts. So I had to let go of the bumper, and you wouldn't let me, so I went about it the wrong way so that you would let me. But god, Luke. I'm giving you another chance right now and if you mess this up, if you break my trust one more time, I'm done."

"Lorelai-"

"No, I said listen. Don't talk. This goes way beyond you and me. It took a wonderfully smart twelve year old to make me realise that. This involves Rory and April, too, because whether or not you want her to, April knows, and she wants to know her baby sister. And I think you'd want her to, as well." She sighed, finally putting a pause on the rant.

"Okay." He breathed, fumbling with his cap.

"Okay." Lorelai echoed. "I have to go. See you soon, April." She called over to the girl who was now sitting on her bed with headphones on, before swiftly leaving.

"You knew, and you didn't say so?!" Luke groaned at his daughter.

"I waited a couple of days to see if you'd say anything, but you didn't. When adults do that it usually means they don't wanna talk about it." She said dryly, removing the headphones.

"But this isn't up to me, it's up to-"

"It's not up to my mom! You're my dad and you're having another baby. Don't you think I deserve to know my sibling, regardless of what my mom thinks of the situation?"

"Hm." Luke grunted. He approached her bed, sitting on the corner of it with his back toward her. "You said you were going to the library, you lied to me. What happens now, am I supposed to ground you?"

"Um...well, you could, but that would kinda pointless considering I don't really go anywhere except for school and the diner, anyway..." She pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"True."

"So...what are you going to do now? About Lorelai, I mean."

"Well... a truce would be nice. It'll be nice just talking to her again." Luke thought aloud. "How do you feel about being a big sister, really?"

"I'm pretty psyched if I'm being honest," April smiled broadly, patting her dad on the shoulder as she noticed his head sink a little. "It'll all work out. You just need to give as much as you take."


End file.
